Are you a lawyer interested in dealing with emerging legal issues related to law, journalism, and new media on the Internet? Would you like to help online journalism and new media ventures meet their legal needs? Do you want a stimulating yet laid back work environment?

The Citizen Media Law Project (soon to be renamed the Digital Media LawProject) at Harvard University’s Berkman Center for Internet & Society is looking to hire an Employee Fellow / Staff Attorney commencing in June 2011 to assist with the project’s work.  Candidates should be energetic and passionate about working on journalism, online speech, intellectual property, and cyberlaw issues. The offices are located at the Berkman Center at Harvard Law School, so the Employee Fellow / Staff Attorneymust be willing to work in Cambridge, MA.

To view the full job listing, go to PSLawNet (login required).

The Louisiana Public Defender Board is hiring a Deputy Public Defender – Director of Juvenile Defender Services.  This is a full-time, executive-level staff position with the State of Louisiana. Responsibilities include:

• Work with representatives of all three branches of state government and other criminal justice stakeholders, including judges, district attorneys, sheriffs, probation officers, and law enforcement officials to promote sound juvenile justice policies in relation to fair adjudication processes, and placement and treatment of juveniles charged in delinquency proceedings that focus on rehabilitation of the offender.
• Promote positive changes (state-wide) in educational opportunities, mental health services and other treatment services for juveniles in the court system.
• Conduct a community outreach/education campaign for all stakeholders (including the client community) to raise public appreciation of the cognitive, emotional, decision-making, and/or behavioral capacities of children and young adults and, as such, raise public support for programs/resources that give special attention to the uniform and competent representation of juveniles.

To view the full job listing, go to PSLawNet (login required).

The National Consumer Law Center is seeking an attorney to specialize in consumer issues affecting low-income Americans. As a member of NCLC’s advocacy staff, the attorney will develop and implement strategies that help combat exploitive practices in the marketplace. The attorney will concentrate primarily on policy and systemic advocacy, research and writing, training, and special reports and projects, including work on the Center’s Student Loan Borrower Assistance Project for at least the first one to two years. The position is located in NCLC’s main office in Boston. Some travel is required.

Founded in 1969, NCLC is a non-profit advocacy organization that challenges predatory and destructive business practices that drain income and wealth from low-income families and their communities.  NCLC is the leading source of legal and public policy expertise on consumer issues for lawyers, federal and state policymakers, consumer advocates, journalists, and social services providers.

To view the full job listing, go to PSLawNet (login required).

The Equal Rights Center seeks a Manager for its Immigrant Rights Program to lead all aspects of the Program’s activities.

The Equal Rights Center (ERC) is a national non-profit civil rights organization based in Washington, D.C. With members located in 42 states and the District of Columbia, the ERC works nationally to promote equal opportunity in housing, employment, disability rights, immigrant rights, and access to public accommodations and government services.

Qualifications:

• Minimum of B.S. or B.A. in a related field (included liberal arts, social science, law, psychology, or urban studies) is preferred, a J.D. a plus.
• Minimum of three years experience with issues affecting the immigrant community is required.
• Excellent verbal, written communication, analytical, and presentation skills.
• Bi-lingual (fluent) in English and Spanish, strongly preferred, fluency in another language considered.
• Familiarity with relevant civil rights laws, test coordination, investigation methodologies, and primary and secondary research sources.
• Attention to detail, imagination, organization, reason, timeliness, dynamism and empathy. It is essential the manager be a solid decision-maker who is also a team player.

To view the full job listing, go to PSLawNet (login required).

Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law’s public service community has reached new heights, and it is very excited to have the opportunity to expand our staff to meet the needs of our students and alumni who pursue public service opportunities.

The Assistant Director will:

• Counsel JD and LLM students and alumni on public service job search strategies and career development
• Conduct workshops and individual sessions on resume writing, interviewing and networking, etc.
• Organize and present panel discussions and informational programs on public service topics;
• Assist in the administration of various programs including the Summer Funding Programs, Post-Graduate Public Service Fellowship Program, Loan Repayment Assistance Program, and Post-Graduate Judicial Clerkship Program;
• Assist in developing and managing pro bono and community service projects for students; and conducting outreach to public service employers.

To view the full job listing, go to PSLawNet (login required).

A summer public interest experience can be tremendously influential and educational.  A public interest experience offers you the opportunity to learn how  public interest and pro bono attorneys use the law as an instrument of social justice.  And on a very practical level, you can also cultivate practical skills that are useful in any number of settings.

In light of all these things, we want you to have the best experiences that you can this summer.  So, we consulted with over 25 public defenders and legal services executive directors with programs throughout the country.  We asked them to help us help you.  They gave us concrete tips about how you can succeed during your summer experiences and some pitfalls to avoid.  We also reached out to law school public interest career advisors who routinely counsel students about maximizing their work experiences and asked for the wisdom they’ve collected over the years.  Here are some of their thoughts:

Even before your first day, educate and set goals for yourself.

• Background Reading?

Put your world class Googling abilities to good use.  Being informed and as up to date as possible is always an asset–and it will save everyone’s time!

• Set Professional Development Goals

Whether you’re directly asked about your goals or you take the initiative to articulate what you’d like to gain from your experience, setting goals.  From drafting a motion to participating in client intake, try to think broadly about the skills and writing samples you’d like to come away with!

Be proactive. It’s the best way to engage!

• Ask Questions!!!

Overwhelmingly, supervisor that there is nothing I like more than a thoughtful question. It suggests to me conscientiousness and a commitment to doing good work.

• Proactive, proactive, proactive…

Public interest lawyers can be pulled in many different directions at once.  Rather than slinking into a corner to stay out of the way, ask how you might help.

• Check-in often
  

Communicate with your supervisor about what you’re working on, how you’re doing with your assignments, and how busy you are.  Hopefully you won’t have to take the initiative every time, but if you feel disconnected from your supervisor it’s probably a good time to check in.

More tips to make the most of your summer public interest experience to come!

Americans United for Separation of Church and State seeks an Assistant Legislative Director. This is a management-level position in the organization. The Assistant Director will aid the Legislative Director in planning and implementing Americans United’s entire legislative program; and will represent the organization on Capitol Hill, in coalitions, and in external speaking engagements.

Who’s eligible? Here is what is sought: 5+ years legislative experience, ideally involving church-state separation or other civil rights issues. J.D. preferred but not required. Experience working with coalitions and elected officials necessary.

To view the full job listing, go to PSLawNet (login required).

The Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem (NDS)’s Housing Defense Project seeks a law student for an unpaid summer 2011 internship.  NDS is a non-profit public law office providing community-based and client-centered legal defense. The Housing Defense Project provides eviction defense services to residents of Harlem and Washington Heights who are threatened with eviction due to a criminal matter, and places special emphasis on women and families facing housing-related collateral consequences.

Activities will include assistance with housing court cases, client intake, legal research on questions of housing /criminal law, and direct representation in New York City Housing Authority hearings.  

A selling point?!  No prior housing experience required.

To view the full job listing, go to PSLawNet (login required).

Check out this opportunity to be a Land Access and Tenure Security Attorney with Landesa Rural Development Institute.

Landesa works to secure land rights for the world’s poorest people—those 3 billion chiefly rural people who live on less than two dollars a day.  Landesa partners with developing countries to design and implement laws, policies, and programs concerning land that provide opportunity, further economic growth, and promote social justice.

Within a context of developing countries around the world, the Landesa Attorney provides legal, policy, and implementation expertise on rural land tenure security, access to land, land redistribution, land privatization, land market liberalization, and land administration (land titling and registration, land use planning and zoning, and dispute resolution). The Attorney conducts legal and social science research (both from the desk and in the field), and prepares and provides analytical reviews, research papers, draft legislation, regulations, surveys, policies, training programs, presentations, and other products.

To view the full job listing, go to PSLawNet (login required).

In the wake of the recent economic recession and the lumbering recovery,  law students and recent grads attempting to forge public interest career paths have experienced an array of adversities. As is well-known, we as job seekers are all subject to the prevailing economic winds. We can’t control the macro-level economic realities that influence our job markets. However, in the context of the public interest job search, we can control the strength with which they present themselves–in both written and in-person presentation.

Here is an article I recently wrote for the NALP Bulletin that highlights tried-and-true tips and best practices for the postgraduate public interest job search.   The article includes wisdom gathered from Jennifer Thomas, Director of Recruiting at the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia, as well as Charlene Gomes, Senior Program Manager at Equal Justice Works, and Jarrod Shirk, American University Law’s Public Interest Coordinator.  The advice offered by Jennifer, Charlene, and Jarrod is extraordinarily valuable, and I encourage those who are setting out on public interest career paths to give the article a read.  (Frequent PSLawNet Blog readers will recognize some of these tips from a series of blog posts we did earlier this year for summer job seekers.  This time we’ve retooled the information for those seeking postgraduate jobs.)  The article includes tips on:

• Cover letter and resume drafting;
• Interviewing; and
• Networking.

I hope you find this useful, and good luck in the job search!  We’re doing our best to post as many jobs as we can find on PSLawNet, so that’s a great starting point.  (And note that you can find even more job application guidance on our Job Search Fundamentals page.)

– Steve Grumm